The investigative authorities are the NZ Police and Child, Youth and Family (CYF). These agencies have different purposes for collecting information.
\n\nYour decision to inform the Police or CYF about the sexual abuse may be a direct result of your son or daughter's experience or may be a response to other people at immediate risk of abuse. You may feel pressure to report right away because you feel some sense of responsibility to prevent any further offending in the future. You may also be in a situation where other people, for example school counsellors or a doctor, have referred safety concerns to statutory agencies.
\n\nDepending on your child's age, the Police may work with CYF and will refer any care and protection concerns over to them to be addressed. In these situations Police and CYF work closely together in any on-going investigation.
\n\nIt is possible that, for a number of reasons, a judicial system will not make the offender accountable for their crime. It’s good to be prepared for this in case this is the outcome.
Sexual abuse offences do not have to be reported straight away, although for the purposes of gathering evidence for an investigation, the police would recommend that reporting is done sooner rather than later. Often families are concerned about a lack of evidence. Our response to this is that many investigations are made into historical abuse. Evidence includes the complainant's testimony.
\n\nIf you are thinking about contacting the Police there are many things to consider. Making a complaint with the hope of a successful prosecution is a difficult journey. Not all complaints lead to court proceedings, and not all court proceedings lead to conviction.
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\nIn New Zealand there is no statute of limitations for sexual abuse crimes. If you are looking to make a civil case there is a time limit. For more information you can contact Youthlaw, a community law centre for young people under 25 years of age living anywhere in NZ. They offer free confidential legal advice, advocacy and support.
If your child is under 17 years old you can contact CYF to make a report of concern about what has occurred. They have the mandate to assess care and protection concerns and to intervene if there are on-going safety concerns. Anybody with concerns about a child or young person aged 0-16 can notify CYF about safety concerns they have.
\n\nWhen a report of concern is made to CYF a response time will be given to that report depending on the level of urgency - needs and safety of the child or young person. A social worker may contact you to gather some initial information to assist in determining the immediate risk to the child or young person. Following this, further investigation and/or assessment will take place to fully assess the safety and needs of the child or young person.
\n\nFollowing an interview with your child and other relevant family members, arrangements may be made for your child to complete a forensic video interview. On occasion, a written statement instead of a video recorded interview may be obtained from your child. The police will advise the preferred method of interview at this time. Afterwards the video recorded will be secured by the Police Child Abuse Team, who specialise in abuse investigations relating to those under 17 years old.
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If you do not wish to make a complaint or report of concern where you are identifiable, you can make an anonymous CYF report of concern. A report of concern can be made by calling 0508 326 459.
\n\nYou do not need to visit an office. The information they are most interested in at this point is the names, ages, dates of birth and addresses of children you believe to be at risk. They will ask you for as many details about the alleged abuse, including any details about the person who has abused, as you are able to give. However as a consequence to making an anonymous report, CYF may not have enough information to make a full assessment.
\n\nThe primary concern of CYF is care and protection of children and young people, not prosecution of the alleged offender. Taking a child or young person away from home, away from their parents or their usual caregivers, is done as a last resort when safety cannot be established at that time with the family/whanau. It will only happen when there is no other way of keeping the child safe. The only reason social workers or NZ Police are able to remove children from their home is to ensure their immediate safety. If a child or young person needs to be removed, CYF would consider the child or young person being placed with a safe family/whanau member.
If your daughter/son chooses to report the abuse to the Police a medical examination might be required to gather evidence, particularly if the sexual abuse occurred recently (within 7 days). Forensic evidence resulting from a penetrative assault is best picked up within 72 hours.
\n\nA. If your child is under 17 years old, the police will refer you to the local child abuse specialists who will arrange for a forensic video interview to be done. This will involve a specialist team of forensic interviewers and will take approximately 2.5 hours.
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\nB. If your child is 17 years old or over, the police will refer your complaint to the local Criminal Investigation Branch or Sexual Assault team. A detective will coordinate the taking of the statement, either in the form of a written statement or video interview. Police policy requires that a support person from a sexual assault agency is present to provide emotional support during this process.
Should your child have an intellectual impairment, then regardless of age, he/she will be video interviewed if it is appropriate to do so. The purpose of the Police interview is to collect evidence of a crime having been committed. The Police need this information to make a prosecution. To this end, they will ask detailed personal questions about what has happened to your child. Until they are sure of their evidence, police are required to maintain their neutral position, although they may also be supportive toward you. If you feel that police attitudes are neither neutral nor supportive, you can ask for clarification.
\n\nThey will request that the statement is signed by your child. Your child needs to read it carefully and be sure that what is stated within it is what he/she believes to be true. If in doubt, ask for an explanation or correction of the document before it is signed. If there is any problem with this, seek legal advice as soon as possible.
\n\nFollowing either of these two options for making a statement, the Police will then talk with whomever else you have told about the abuse. They are interested in what happened, where it happened and specific visual details to validate what has been alleged. Such information will allow them to request a search warrant, a significant aid to a full police investigation.
\n\nFollowing this, the Police will then make a decision whether or not to proceed with full investigation and subsequent laying of charges. This usually depends on whether or not they believe there is enough evidence for the alleged offender to be convicted. The evidence collected needs to match crime criteria based upon law. If they choose not to go ahead, this does not mean the assault did not happen - it may only mean that there is not enough evidence to support the claim in a court of law. If the police decide to continue with the complaint this may mean going to court, which can take up a year or more to complete.
\n\nC. Hold your notification in their database to support any further complaint against the alleged offender. They may approach you at a later date if required or wait for you to make a statement. After recording the information you provide they might approach the alleged offender and request he provide a voluntary DNA sample for their National DNA Database.
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Although false complaints are not common, when they do occur the police will respond to them very seriously, and in some cases lay charges against the complainant.
Your child does have rights during the investigative process. It is important to note that so does the alleged offender. Under the eyes of the legal system, the alleged offender will be deemed innocent until found guilty at the conclusion of a court case.
\n\nFor a comprehensive list of your child's rights and those of the offender you can contact the Ministry of Justice. Your local sexual abuse support service, the NZ Police and Department for Courts have free brochures and other relevant information.
"You should be treated with courtesy and compassion and your dignity and privacy should be respected. You should receive help with meeting any welfare, health, counselling, medical or legal needs."
\n(Victims Rights' Act 2022, Ministry of Justice)
The Victims Rights' Act 2002 makes sure that if you are a victim, your rights will be taken seriously. The Victims' Rights Act turns many of the vague principles contained in the 1987 Victim of Offences Act into mandatory obligations. This ensures that the Government Department responsible for delivering your rights will do so or can be held accountable if they do not.
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Once charges are laid, suppression of your name is automatic. This means that it cannot be released to the public. If information about the offender could help identify you, this will also be suppressed.
If you choose not to report at all, or if you do not yet feel ready to report immediately because you need time to understand what options are available, there are many supportive services to guide you through your decision making process.
\n\nIf professionals hold serious concerns for a child's immediate safety within the home, or elsewhere, they will work with you to contact CYF to make a report of concern. This allows CYF to investigate the safety of the child. If the sexual abuse has occurred within your home then CYF will become involved to work with you to establish care and protection for the child.
In some situations, restorative justice might provide an alternative or additional route to justice. It seeks to put things right by bringing together survivors and their supporters, and those who have caused the harm. This offers the survivor a chance to tell her story, how he/she was harmed by what the perpetrator did, and to say what he/she would need for that harm to be healed. For it to be effective, it does require the person who caused the harm to be able to admit to this, and to give full and appropriate apology.
\n\nBecause of the particular dynamics of sexual violence, a special process is undertaken to minimise any risks of harm, and maximise chances of healing while striving for justice. This is run by Project Restore, in collaboration with HELP and other specialist groups.
When a crime is reported, a police officer will be assigned as the officer in charge of the case, or sometimes as the officer in charge of witnesses, and will be the main contact for you and the young witness.
\n\nIf you are the main support person, you are likely to be the key contact person between the family/whanau and the police and court. If the young witness is a victim of the crime, a parent or legal guardian will also have all the rights of a victim under the Victims Rights Act. For more information, visit www.victimsinfo.govt.nz or call the Victims of Crime Information line on 0800 650 654.
\n\nThe officer in charge will also refer you to appropriate support agencies in your area who can provide practical and emotional support throughout the investigation, court process (if the case goes to court) and afterwards.
\n\nDuring the investigation, police will also talk to other witnesses and gather evidence. If they have enough evidence they will arrest someone and charge them with a crime.
\n\nSometimes, no matter how thorough the investigation, there is not enough evidence to make an arrest or take a case to court. This does not mean that the young witness was not believed. It may simply mean there was not enough evidence to prove the case legally in court.
\n\nIf the crime was committed by a child or young person, the whole process of the case is different as it goes through the youth justice process. This may involve a family group conference. If the young witness is a victim of the crime, they will be invited to the conference along with their support person to have a say in how the young person will be dealt with.
\n\nThe Youth Justice Coordinator, who works for Child, Youth and Family, will keep you informed about the case and your involvement. Some very serious cases of youth crime go through the adult court system.
\n\nIf you are supporting a young witness who has been a victim of crime by a young person, you and the young witness may be invited to a family group conference to have a say about the young person's offending and how the young person can put things right.
\n\nTo find out more about attending a family group conference, talk to the Youth Justice Coordinator, or visit www.cyf.govt. nz/youth-justice.
\n\nIf the young witness is a victim of sexual assault or abuse, the court will be closed while the young witness gives evidence. This means that members of the public, including family and whanau supporting from the public gallery, must leave the courtroom, unless the young witness asks if they can stay or the judge gives permission.
\n\nA prosecution is not a private case, it is a criminal case in which the Crown or state charges the offender (referred to as the accused or defendant). Therefore, the survivor is considered a witness to the crime. It is the prosecuting lawyer's job to prove to the jury that the offender is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
\n\nYour job is to tell your story by truthfully and thoroughly answering the questions put to you by the prosecuting lawyer and the defence lawyer. This is referred to as 'giving evidence' or 'testifying'.
\n\nTrials usually take between one to four days, depending on what happened to you and how long it takes for you to give your evidence. You do not need to attend the entire trial. Survivors are the first witnesses called to give evidence.
\n\nYour name will not be released to the public or to the media. Sometimes a reporter will attend the trial but they are prohibited from identifying you in any way.
\n\nThe courtroom is a closed court while you testify. This means only the jury, court personnel, the officer in charge of the case and the offender will be present. While waiting to testify, you can sit in a private witness room with your support people.
we assist you to develop skills that will help you get through the processes of the court, including cross-examination. In some situations, we might also be able to support you in court when you are giving evidence. Some people are happy with family providing this support, but others want someone independent, as family members can be as upset by the court case as you are. You don’t want to end up needing to support someone else when you are upset yourself. Whoever you decide you want in court, you must inform the officer in charge of the case of who this person is prior to the trial.
\n\nIf the police interview was recorded, the Crown can apply to the court for this recording to be your evidence in chief. You would still need to be cross-examined, but the video would tell the story. Alternatively, the Crown can apply for you to have a screen to conceal the offender from you while you are giving evidence. You must discuss this with the Officer in Charge of the case when the case goes to depositions hearing. Children often give their evidence using a closed circuit television from a room near the courtroom. This right is now afforded to adult survivors also. It is up to the Judge whether or not this is allowed in a trial.
\n\nWorking out a strategy to help you stay calm and focussed while giving evidence before the trial is helpful. If you need to take a fifteen minute break and rest at any time, let the Judge know. It is important that you clearly understand the questions so do not rush to answer them. Ask the Judge to clarify any confusing questions.
\n\nThe court preparation service is provided to assist women and adolescent girls who have survived sexual abuse and are about to enter the court process.
\n\nPrevious or current counselling is not required, though it is usually recommended as going to court can be an intimidating experience and we hope to ease the stress.
\n\nThis service is free. Phone 623 1700 to speak with a Duty Counsellor. Hours of service are Tuesdays to Fridays, during business hours only. If you phone outside of business hours, you will get an answerphone. Please leave your name and number and our Duty Counsellor will return your call as soon as they are able.